Raised beds are very popular because they offer the opportunity for carefree gardening even with physical disabilities or a lack of garden space. They come in countless shapes and variants, but sometimes they take up a lot of space. But what if there is not enough space for a classic raised bed?

A shelf is a convenient way to grow vegetables vertically

Convenient gardening in a small space

If the balcony or terrace is very small, you should not garden horizontally - instead let your plants stack up on top of each other! This way you only need a very small footprint, but still accommodate the desired flowers, vegetables or herbs. Convenient gardening in a small space is made possible by so-called plant shelves (sometimes also referred to as flower shelves), which are simply placed in the desired location and, ideally, well secured. This can be done, for example, by positioning it and screwing it to a balcony wall.

Plant shelves made of wood, metal or plastic - which is better?

Plant shelves come in many shapes, sizes and materials. Basically, these are normal shelves, but they have been specially designed for plant cultivation - and for this reason have something wider shelves or more space between the individual shelves. They are made of wood, metal or plastic. Which material you personally prefer depends entirely on your taste. And where the plant shelf should be and what weather conditions it is exposed to. Wood, for example, weathers quite quickly if it is constantly exposed to moisture. However, wooden shelves made of hardwood (e.g. larch or Douglas fir) are much more robust and therefore more durable than soft wood such as spruce. Plastic shelves, on the other hand, are particularly suitable for small balconies due to their low weight - after all, you always have to keep an eye on the load-bearing capacity or statics.

Proper planting of a plant shelf

To plant such a plant shelf, you must place suitable planters on the shelf. These can be individual pots, but also entire planters (or flower boxes,(16.99€) fruit boxes). You should secure them so that the next gust of wind doesn't blow them off the shelf. For example, a cross-mounted bar made of wood or metal is suitable for this. Fill the planters with suitable potting soil. If you want to use the shelf for growing young plants, you can turn it into a greenhouse in no time at all with the help of strips of foil.

tips

In general, shelves in the immediate vicinity of conventional raised beds are extremely practical, as they serve as storage space for baskets and other containers, work utensils or fertilizers. In this way, you have everything you need to hand when working on the raised bed.

Category:

Vegetable garden